Steam-trap



3 Sheets-Sheet L (No Model.)

B. B. GGLD.

STEAM TRAP.

No. 398,719. Patented Feb. 26, 1889 C. mum

and

WITNESSES a w%@w% m /yz (N0 Modl.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. E. GOLD.

STEAM TRAP.

No. 398,719. Patented'Feb.Z6. 1889.

INVENTOR:

du Md 6 3 Bed By Ms A/fwwcys.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

B. E. GOLD.

STEAM TRAP.

No. 398,719. Patented Feb. 26, 1.889.

INVENTOR:

S By his Azzm neys.

. mcr cL,

WITNESSES:

BEST AVAILABLE COPY hurts TENT OFFICE.

lfiHlYARl) n, oono, or NEW YORK, N. v.

steam-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,719, dated February 26, 1889. Application filed January 27,1888. Serial No. 262,122. (No nicdixl ture of steamtraps or drainage or relief valves applicable to steam-heating systems and designed especially for use with the steam-licating-pipes'of railway-cars. I

In the heating of railway-cars bystcam difficult-y has been experienced on account'of the liability of water of condensation being leftin the pipes and" freezing there in cold weather. In the well-known Gold system of car-heating the steam-pipes by which steam from the locomotive is conducted to the cars are provided with t-lrfermostatic traps, which remain closed by the expansion of an elastic vessel so. long as this vessel is heated by the presence of steam in the pipes, and open antomatically by the contraction of the vessel when the pipes are cooled and the steam is condensed. The thermostatic trap being arranged at the lowest; point of the steam-pipe,

thewater of condensation is thus automatically drained out. This thermostatic trap is illustrated in my patent, No. 350,880, dated.

October 12, 18613. In the development ofthe Gold heating system traps ot this character are applied in various locations in connection with the main and branch steam-pipes and at the terminals of the pipes or chambers supplying hot water or liquid radiators. in my patent, No. 392,424, dated Xovcmbcr 1;, lsss,

I have illustrated this thermostatic trap as applied to the bowls or chambers of the hosecouplings by which the connection is made between the steam-pipes of successive cars of the train. As the coupling is ordinarily the 1 lowest point in the system of steam-pipes, the arrangement of the thermostatic trap at that point enables the waterof condensation to be freely drained from the entire system of pipes. Difiiculty has been experienced in the use of thermostatic traps for draining the steamheating pipes, because of the liability that the condensation of the steam shall create a vaeuum in the pipes which may be sufficient to hold the thermostatic trap-valves closed by suction, thereby retaining the water of conessels with aalv cs situated,

valve is constructed toopen inwardly, and is providcduith a spring, dr, ;oth er equivalent tension thrice-acting to unsea. or open the valve, but having a tension insutiicient to resist the steam-pressure normallyemployed in the pipe or. vessel, so that while the steampressure continues the valve isheld closed; but upon the cessation of the steam-pressure and before the formation of the vacuum the valve will be automatically opened and will permit the water of condensation which has accumulated above it to escape. As an accessory to this automatic valve, and in order to insure that it shall properly close when the steam is turned on, and that it shall close even with a less pressure of st cam than would be sufficient to overcomethe 1 cusion of its spring, I provide a thermostatic expansion deviceuarranged within the steam pipe or chamber and connected to the valve in such mannerthat when it expands by the heat of the steam it will force the valve to its seat. To enable this connection to be properly adjusted, I provide suitable adjusting stops or screws for regulating the position of t-ilOlllOllllOSlZltiC device relatively to the valve. As a further accessory to the automatic valve, 1 provide a screw or equivalent device, by means of which the valve may at any time by manipulation be forced to its seat, and thereby rendered inact- Such a device will be useful in case the ive.

valve should get out of ord or or in any man- 5 nor become inoperative, or in case it should be desired to render the valve inoperativeas, for example, if it became necessary to 0p- 2 crate the heating apparatus wit-ha lower pressi ure of steam than that to which the valves i may be adjusted, in which case in the absence of means for manually closin g the valves they, would remain open and permit the steam to escape and go to waste. In case, also, for example, a train is to be heatedby exhaust-steam from the engine, it will be necessary to thus close the valves manually.-

I apply myimproved valve or trap, by preference, to the couplings, as these are usually the lowest points in the system of heatingpipes and the ones toward which the water of condensation will usually drain. When applied to the coupling, my present. invention supersedes the thermostatic trapj heretofore applied thereto andobviates the necessity of forming the coupling bowls or heads with pendent chambers projecting below them, as heretofore. \Vhen the thermorex'pansive vessel is employed, it is placed within thechamher in the coupling-head or in a recessat the upper side thereof.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of the flexible hose and coupling for connectingtogether the steam-heating pipes of two adjoining cars of a railway-train, a fragment of the main steam-pipe on one car being shown. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal mid-section of one of the coupling heads or bowls on a larger scale. Fig. is an elevation of the construe tion'of valve shown in Fig. 2, removed from the coupling. Fig. t is a similar section to Fig. 2, showing a modified construction. Fig. 5 is an elevation of a portion of one ot'v the liquid-heating vessels orradiators within the car employed in my system of heating, partly in vertical mid-section, and illustrating the application of my present-invention thereto.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section, on a larger scale, ofthe lower portion of the steam or drip pipe shown in Fig. 5. i Fig. 7 is atransverse section cut on the line-T 7 in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section of the coupling-- head, out on the line 8 8 in Fig. 1, and showing a modified construction. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are longitudinal mid sections of couplingheads similar to Figs. 2 and 4,'and showing three diifercnt modified constructions.

I will proceed todescribe my invention as applied to the Gold system of car-heating, and with special reference to the particular system or arrangement wherein the main steam-pipe is divided into two branches, which extend through the car along opposite sides thereof and at th*'fartherend are reunited, and within the car is arranged a water or other liquid heating and radiating circuit.

Referring to Fig. l of the accompanying drawings, let A designate the main steam supply or heating pipe of a car, B the flexible hose connected to the end of the pipe A, and C the coupling by which the terminal end of the hose B is connected to the corresponding end of the hose of the adjoining car. particular construction here shown the hose B is connected with the steam-pipe A in permanent manner bymeans of acoupling clamp or sleeve, a, and at its other end it is conopening, e.

v seat.

In. the.

nected by similar means to the neck of one of the interlocked halves or heads of the couperence is made for a more particular descriptipn of the mechanical provisions by which the two heads of the coupling are interlocked.

Suifice it here to say that each coupling-head.

is formed with .an angular trunnion-arm adapted to embrace the. opposite head, and

with inclines or wedging-surfaces acting against said trunnion-arms,'which force the two halves firmly together as they are turned on each other in the dropping of the coupling and hose into their usual drooped'or sagging position, as shown. Themainsteain-pipe A is preferably provided near its end with a stop-cock, I). r

Fig. 5 of the accoinpanvingdrawings shows a heat-storage radiator, G, consisting of a vessel containing water, brine, or other suitable liquid, and connected by the pipe to the next vessel in the liquid-heating circuit, and the corrugated pipe '12, being abranch steampipe leading from the main pipe A, which extends through the vessel G and terminates at its end remote from the steam-pipe in a pipe, 0, leading to a steam-trap, p, from which a drip-pipe, p, descends through the floor of the car in order to discharge the water of .con- :lensation uponthe track.

'm is the liquid-space within the vessel G.

I .will now proceed to describe niy present invention with reference first to the preferred construction thereof shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

wherein it is illustrated as applied to the. .coupling 0.

Each coupling head or bowl D is formed, as

usual, with a short cylindrical chamber, and

in this chamber is placed the improved trap or drainage-valve provided by my invention, and which, as a whole, is designated by the letter- E. This trap is shown in Fig. 3 removed from the coupling. It is constructed with a valve-seat, c, which is screwed into a .boss formed on the under side of the couplinghexagonal, which comes against the boss with an intervening packing.

Through the seat 0 is formed an outlet- The valve F is mounted on a valve-stem, f, which is suitably guided and receives the. upward tension of a spiral sprin g, g, which tends toliftthe valve F off from its 'VVhen the steam-pressure is turned on, it forces the valve down against the tension of the spring and closes the outlet.

The valve-seat c is formed at the lowest .pointin the couplinghead when the latter is in the preferred consi ruci ion the valve-stem is guided by means of a tubular frame or standard, 1', forming part of the valve-seat A washer, j, is dropped into this tubular frame or standard and .rests against a ledge or shoulder, A. spring, g, rests upon this Washer, and a nut, 7, is screwed upon the stem f and receives the upward tension of the spring, this tension being adjustable by screwing the nut up or down on thestem. The valve-stem is guided at its lower end by the central hole in the washer j and at its upper portion by the nut l, which has wings or arms projecting from it and terminating against the inner walls of the standard 2'. i

The washer j forms a stop for limiting the upward movement of the valve F, the upper side of which abuts against the lower side of the washer, as shown in Fig. 2. l/Vhenthe valve is lifted,'the water of condensation flows out through openings q q in the standard 1' above the valve-scat 0.

Just above the upper end of the valve-stem f is arranged a thermostatic expansion device, H. The particular description of this device which is here shown consists of a vessel or chamber some portion of which, preferably the lower side, or the whole vessel, is suiiicientl y elastic to expand under the tension of an internal pressure, and in this vessel is placed a quantity of a volatile liquid, which volatilizes at a temperature below that of stca-msuch, for instance, as alcohol. lVhen steam is turned on, it heats the liquid in the vessel H and expands the latter. The vessel ll is so arranged that when it thus expands it. will come in contact with the upper endof the valve-stem f and exert a downward pressure thereagainst, thereby forcing the valve F down to its seat in case it has not yet been 5 seated by the direct pressure of the steam. To accomplish this result, it. is important that the vessel H shall be constructed to expand to an extent at least equal to the lift of the valve F, and that it shall stand at the proper height relatively to the valves-tom f. The

latter requisite is effected by any suiiableadjnsting devices, preferably adj Listing-screws, which may be set once for all to the proper position. The screws s s in Fig. 2 are provided for this purpose, as by screwing them up or downthe thermo-ejvpansive vessel ll 3 will be brought to a higher or lower position. The vessel H is fastened to the lower end of a screw, 1, which turns in female threads in a cap, J, which closes the opening in the top of the coupling-head 1), through which the vessel H is inserted therein. A stufiing-box,

i,-is provided to pack the screw I against' leakage.

The screw l is provided with a T-hc'ad, l,

at its upper end, or with a hand-wheel, or with screws .ss form merely stops to limit the upward movement of the vessel ll, which ordinarily is lifted by the screwl until it is in firm contact with these stops, at which time it should be in proper adjustment relatively to the valve-stem f, so that when the vessel is expanded by heat it will press down the valve-stem and seat tlievalve.

The function of the thermo-expansion de vice His to insure the seatingof the valve in case it should not be properly seated by the steam-pressure. This might occur in conseparts of the valve E, or of corrosion thereof, so that they do not work freely, or in consequence of obstructions in the nature of sediment which might find their way beneath the valve F; or the failure of the valve to be seated by pressure might be due to the adjustment of the s ring g, being at too great a tension for the ste in-pressure used for the time being, in which case the steam, even at low pressure, being sufficient to heat and expand the vessel H, would insure the proper closing of the valve. -The expansion of the vessel H exerts considerable force, sufficient to press the valve F to its seat against any resistance that may ordinarily oppose it, and I even againstany ordinary obstruct-ions bei neath the valve.

It is desirable at times to be able to close .bymanual means any automatically-operated valve of this character, either in consequence ofthe valve becoming inoperative through derangement or when the apparatus is to work under unusual conditions. For example, in case the cars are to be heated by exhaust-steam instead of by live steam, it would be desirable to close manually all of the traps, in order that there should be no waste of steam by its escape through them, its press- 11 re being insuiiicient to close the valves, and it being in such case undesirable to rely upon its heat causing the closure of the valves through the action of the thermo-expansion vessels. To provide for this is the function of the screw I. \Vhen it is desired to close the valve, the screw 1 is screwed down, thereby lowering the vessel H against the valvestem f and pressing the valve down to its seat;

In order to prevent a careless train-hand from injuring the vessel ll by screwing down i the screw I too hard, a blocker buifer, u, may 1 be placed inside the vessel, being fastened to l the end of the screw I and extending down nearly to the flexible diaphragm forming the bot tom of the vessel, in order that when the parts are screwed down so firmly that this diaphragm is pressed upwardly by the end of the valve-stem f it shall be re-enforccd against the lower end of I the block it. When it is desired to restore the valve to its normal condition, the screw I isto be screwed up until stopped by the abutment of the vessel H against the stop-screws s. The upper side of the vessel -H may be made of thick quenccof imperfect fitting of the working 5 water of condensation.

material in order. to resist the strain which I may be occasioned by screwing upthe screw I too forcibly. I

1 My. present invention combines the.advan-' tages ofa thermostatic trap with those of a trap operating solely by the pressure of the steam. The disadvantageqof a thermostatic trap that theexistence of, a vacuum within the pipes will prevent its'opening is over come in this construction, since the' ex-pansiom vessel H does not come directly, against the valve-seat, and consequently. suction has no power to retain the'valve closed. The vesother.

sel H is surrounded on all sides by, thefiuid medium within. theicouplin'g lieadand consequently is balanced in so 'fai' asany tendency exists to movedt bodily toward or from the valve-seat. The only tendency of a vacuum would be ,to exp.and, the vessel H; but as a vacuum only occurs at a low temperature the' contractile tendency of- .th-vess'el -will be greater than the expansive tendencydue tothe vacuum around it, and hen ceit Will 1101;51'6 main expanded,and willnot act to retain the valve closed and prevent the. escape of the M y invention also combines theadvantages of' an automatic and a manually-operated drainage valve or cock, in that it may beinf stantaneously converted from on io, the

My invention may be modified 1111i ways without departing from its essential features.

i at the coupling or at any other part of the heating system wherever water of condensa tion is. liable to accumulate and requires to be drained o'tT.

Fig. 4 shows amodification which is distinguished chiefly by the omission of the screw I for'maniially closing the valve, and by the omission of the screw-stops s s for adjusting the height of thethermo expansive vessel H.

This vessel is dropped into a recess in' the top of the coupling-head D, and rests on a ledge or flange, r. If it requires adjustment up or down, this is accomplished by inserting a washer, o of greater or less thickness be- .neath it. The cap J f is screwed in above the vessel 11 to close thetop of the chamber which it occupies. In order thatsteam may be admitted to all sides of the vessel H, a chamber orspace is formed above it and around it, and. steam-channels w a; are formed to admit the steam to the surrounding space. The valve -F is'shown in this'view as being formed with a conical face fitting against a coned seat. In

' other respects the construction is the same as 'fications of construction.

that first describedj '2 Fig. 5 shows not only the application of my improvedtrap-valve' in another part of the heating system, but also illustrates some modi- The trap is here employed at the termination of one of the branch steam-pipes, into which steam is ad:

mitted from the main pipe in order to heat the liquid in the heater .The short section V of pipe 0, which terminates this branch steampipe, is screwed into the casing of the trap p, which is formed with a chamber, D, above, in which is arranged thethermo-expansion vessel H, and from the bottom of this chamber a pipe, 1), extends downward beneath the floor of the car and terminates in the drainage-trap E. This trap E and the expansion-, ve'ssel H are arranged at a considerable distance apart, a long stem or rod, f, being em- "ployed to make" connection between them, this stem extending through the center of the pipe p'.'- The-vessel H is adjusted up and down by a screw-stem, I, working through a stuffing-box, t, at the top of the chamber D.

The construction of the trap E is shown in Figs. 6'and 7, where it is seen that a block, K,

is screwed into the lower end of the pipe 10'.

.This-iblock is formed with the valve-seat c, and. has a flange, d, which abuts against the 'end of the pipe. The valve F has its stem f passin g downwardly through the valve-seat, guided by three wings, y y, as shown in Fig. 7, with a cap-nut, j, screwed onxits lower end and forming a stop, which, striking against the lower ends of the wings, limits the upward movement of the valve.

The tension device for lifting the valve c011- sists in this construction of a weight, W, in lieu ofa spring. This weight is formed or mounted on one arm of a lever, L, which'is fulcrumed on a screw, 2, in the block K, and

' the opposite end of which takes under the end is uided by wings to, Fig. 6, in order to maintain it centrally within the-pipe p, and its bottom extremity stands just above the valve F. The adjustments and proportions are such that the expansion of the vessel H when steam is turned on will lower the rod f suflicien tly to cause its bottom end to strike the valve F and press the latter down to its seat. This construction of a weight-retracted valve is illustrated here merely to show a modification of which my invention is susceptible, the construct-ion first describedv being preferred.

In Fig. 8 is shown a modification of the connection between the expansion-vessel H and the valve F, which are otherwise constructed substantially as shown in Fig. 4. The vessel H, instead of being placed in a horizontal plane above the alve, is arranged in a verti cal plane at one side thereof and against the side wall, C, of the coupling-head D. This arrangementpermits a vessel H of larger diameter to be used without necessitating any widening of the coupling-head or other change in its shape, The vessel H is held against the wall C by a skeleton thi'mble, N, which is passed into the chamberof the couplinghead through the side thereof, on which is formed the valve-seat for connection with the opposite coupling, a sufiicicntly large opening being provided for the purpose, which isafterward closed by the screwing in of an annular cap or collar, M, which carries the valve-seat, and which, as it is screwed home, clamps the thiinble N in place. This thimble is made in skeleton form, in order not to obstruct the 'openingB,throughvwhich the steam enters from the hose B, and in order to permit the trap E to be screwed in from below, this vessel ll is communicated to the stemtrap is constructed in substantially the same manner as in Fig. 4, except that its stem f does not project sohigh, stopping short somewhat below the center of the coupling-head. The movement due to the expansion of the omitted. The trap E is of the same construction as in Fig. l, and a screw, I, is provided, screwing in a cap or block, .Lat the top of the coupling-head and packed by a stufiing-b'ox, t. lly screwing down this screw the valve l will be forced to its seat, and thereby closed manually.

Fig. 10 shows a modified construction wherein the trap E, which is constructed the same as in Fig. Jr, is-wholly unprovided with any means of manually closingit-a construction which may be preferred in someinst-ances.

In all of the constructions thus far 'described wherein a spring, g, is employed as 'the tension device for'lifting the valve this spring has been arranged above the valve,

where it is out of the way of the outfiowing stream of liquid.

.In Fig. 11 l haveshown amodified construction wherein the spring 9 is arranged valve-stem, guides for said stem, and a stop beneath the valve and in the outflow-passage. The valve F is here at the highest point, its stem f extending thence downwardly through the tube 2', and being guided by a hub or spider, j, cast or otherwise secured within this tube,and which thus forms a re-enforce for the spring g, which bears upwardly against thevalveF. 0n the lower end of the ,valvestem isscrewed a winged nut, Z, the arms of which work in an enlarged or counterbored portion of the tubez', in order guide the stem f and form a stop to limit the upward movement thereof by their abutment against a shoulder, i

'It will be understoodvthat in lieu of the thermo-expansion vessel 11, which is in itself an old and well-known construction of thermoexpansion device or thermostat, I may use any other thermo-expansion device which is capable of operating in an equivalent.manner in order to force the drainage-valveto its seat when heated by the presence of steam.

It is to be understood that although I have described my presentinvention with special reference to its applicability to the Gold system of heating railway-cars by steam, yet it may be applied to other systems of heating, such as are already known. My invention is notlimited in its application to heating systems for cars, but is applicable also to systems ofheating for houses or apartments, and also to steam-pipes or steamvessels generally, including those used for other purposes than steam-heating.

I.claim as my invention the following defined novel features, substantially as hereinbet'ore specified, viz:

' 1. The.combination,with a steam-heating system, of an automatic trap consisting of a drainage-valve connected with the steam heating pipe or vessel and opening inwardly, and a tension device arranged toexert a pressure against said valve tending to open it, but insufiicient to resist the normal steampressure insaid pipe or'vessel,whereby said valve is closed when steam is turned on and opens automatically when the steam-pressure ceases.

2. The combination, was a steanvpipefi' con pl ing'for the steam-heating pipes of a railway-oar, of an automatic trap'applied to the coupling-head, consisting of a valve opening inwardly, with its seat arranged to' drain the liquid, from the normally-lowest portion thereof, and a tension device arranged to exert a pressure against said valve tending to open it, but insufticientto resist the normal steam-pressure within the pipes.

3. The combination, with a steam-pipe coupling for the steam-heating pipes of a railwaycar, of an automatic trap applied to the coupling-head, consisting of avalve-seat at the normally-lowest part of the head, a valve opening inwardly from said seat, aretractingspring tending to openthe valve, but insutficient to resist the normal steam-pressure, a

movement of the arranged when turned to force said valve to its seat, whereby the automatic operation of the valve may be prevented at will.

5. The combination, with a'steam pipe or vessel, of an automatic trap consisting of a valve-seat, a tubular standard borne bysaid seat, a valve opening inwardly, a valve-stem within said standard, a transverse partition in said standard forming a stop for limiting the opening movement of the valve, a spring; tending to open the 'alve re-enforced against said partition ,and anadjlisting-nut screwing on the val ve-stenr and receiving the tension of said spring, whereby the latter may be a ing inwardly, a valve-stem fixed to said valve and extending axially-through said standard, r a guiding-nut screwed on said valve-stem, and

guiding-nut.

a spring tending to lift said valve-re-enforced against said washer and reacting against said 7.- An au omatic trap consisting of a valve opening inwardly and a tension device tendlimit the movement of said expansion device away from said valve, and a screw connect-ed to-sa'id thermo-expansive device and adapted to move'T-the latter toward or from the valve, whereby by'tu rning said screw the valve may be forced toits seat.

8. A hose-coupling head formed with a eire'ular opening in-its upper side, a cap closing said opening, a thermo expansive vessel within the chamber of the coupling-head, a screw passing through said cap for Vertically adjusting said vessel, and anautomatic trap within the chamber of the coupling-head, consisting of a seat at the normally-lower side thereof, a valve opening inwardly and arranged relatively to said thermo-expansive vessel, so that the expansion of the latter will force it to its seat, and a tension device arranged to exert ajpressnre tending to open said valve. r, .l

EDWARD E. GOLD. \Vitnesses: V v r v JNo. E. GAVIN,

' GEORGE H. FRASER. 

